DETROIT — The Detroit Fire Department is beefing up its ranks, but it's still not enough to keep the public adequately safe, says Detroit Firefighters Association President Dan McNamara.

Twenty-six firefighters, who were laid off on Aug. 10, will soon be rehired thanks to a $5.6 million federal grant.

"It's exciting," McNamara said. "We're at critical mass now and we need everybody back — and we need to hire more."

Based on the amount received, McNamara expects the department could afford to hire back 30 firefighters, 26 who were laid off and four who took other positions with the city in August.

Despite restoring the laid off firefighters, the department is still down personnel due to 70 retirements since January, which McNamara said it doesn't appear the city is eager to replace.

As of this summer, the Detroit Fire Department employed 881 firefighters and 248 EMS technicians.

The Detroit Firefighters Association is currently suing the city of Detroit and its fie department for reducing staffing "to a level unsafe for both residents and the firefighters." See complaint here.

The department targets a response time of four minutes, said McNamara, but is currently averaging between five and six minutes in areas of the city due to the closure of multiple companies.

Elongated response time endanger residents and their property, leads to higher insurance rates and increases the danger faced by firefighters who have to combat more involved blazes, the union president said.

Funds for reinstating the firefighters come from a Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant that covers two years of salaries and benefits for the 26 firefighters, according to a release issued by Mayor Dave Bing's Office Friday.

The figure works out to more than $107,000 per firefighter annually.

The city planned to layoff 164 firefighters as of early-summer. A previous $22.5 million grant was said to help stave off 100 layoffs.

“I am extremely pleased to accept a second SAFER grant on behalf of the City and the people of Detroit,” Mayor Bing said in a release Friday. “Public safety is and absolutely must be our top priority, and this grant allows us to get firefighters who were recently sidelined back on the job protecting Detroit neighborhoods. The SAFER program makes Detroiters safer, and it doesn’t get any better than that."

McNamara said the union hasn't been notified how long it will take to reinstate the laid-off firefighters. The Human Resources Department handles those details, he said.